THEMATIC UNIT INSECTS Written By Kathee Gosnell Updated with Technology Extensions Teacher Created Materials, Inc. 6421 Industry Way Westminster, CA 92683 www.teachercreated.com 1995 Teacher Created Materials, Inc. Reprinted, 2001 Updated, 2001 Made in U.S.A. ISBN-1-55734-592-9 Illustrated by Agi Palinay Edited by Walter Kelly, M.A. Cover Art by Sue Fullam The classroom teacher may reproduce copies of materials in this book for classroom use only. The reproduction of any part for an entire school or school system is strictly prohibited. No part of this publication may be transmitted, stored, or recorded in any form without written permission from the publisher.
Table Of Contents Introduction........................................................ 3 Insects Around the House and Insects in the Garden by D.M. Souza (Carolrhoda Books, Inc., 1991)............................................. 5 (Available in Canada from Riverwood Pub; UK: Turnaround; AUS: Stafford Books) Summaries Sample Plan Overview of Activities Completion Puzzle Natural Science Journal Magazine Article Venn Diagram Ant Colonies Ant Anatomy Beetles Unscramble Butterfly/Moth Creations Planting a Butterfly Garden Big Brother/Big Sister: Teach Us! Insect Bingo James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl (Puffin, 1988)............................. 23 (Available in Canada from Penguin; UK and AUS: Penguin Ltd.) Summary Sample Plan Overview of Activities Where s Everybody? Scale Drawings Start Spinning! Stridulation (Grasshopper Music) Giants in the Insect World Writing...................................................................... 30 Writer s Workbook Daily Writing Topics Making Books: Big, Shape, and Wheel Books Across the Curriculum....................................................... 37 Language Arts: Math: Science: Social Studies: Art: Life Skills: Word Bank Crossword Puzzle Butterfly and Moth Word Search Homonym Cents About Honeybees The Body of a Grasshopper Migrating Monarchs Rain Forest Gardeners Living Light: Fireflies Team Writing and the Main Idea Insect Computations Honeycomb Addition The Long and Short of Insect Measuring Insect Facts Plot the Answers: Insects of The Rain Forest Bar Graph Shape and Space Firefly Story Problems Scientific Classification Scientific Classification and Identification Form Growth of an Insect: The Life Cycle Controlling Insect Pests Insect Collecting Mounting Insect Collections Collecting Cocoons A Pond Insect Aquarium Scientific Crossword Puzzle U.S. Map World Map Insects in Your Neighborhood Living Fossils: Dragonflies The Fact Pyramid Insect Game Insect Invention Insect Crafts Careers in Entomology Thanks, Honey! Culminating Activity:......................................................... 73 Metamorphosis Play Unit Management:............................................................ 75 Bulletin Board Ideas Awards Bibliography................................................................. 77 Answer Key.................................................................. 78 #592 Thematic Unit Insects 2 1995 Teacher Created Materials, Inc.
Introduction Insects contains a captivating whole-language thematic unit about the study of insects, relating it to our understanding of the past and our hopes for using our knowledge in the present to balance the ecosystem in the future. These 80 exciting pages are filled with a wide variety of lesson ideas and reproducible pages designed for use with intermediate students. At its core, this literature-based thematic unit has three high-quality children s literature selections: Insects Around the House; Insects in the Garden; and James and the Giant Peach. For each of these selections, activities are included which set the stage for reading, encourage the enjoyment of the selection, and extend the concepts gained. In addition, the theme is connected to the curriculum with activities in language arts, math, science, social studies, art, and life skills. Many of these activities encourage cooperative learning. Suggestions for bulletin boards and unit management tools are additional time savers for the busy teacher. Highlighting this complete teacher resource is a culminating activity: A Metamorphosis Play. This activity enables students to synthesize and apply their knowledge beyond the classroom. This thematic unit includes: Literature selections summaries of three children s books with related lessons (complete with reproducible pages) that cross the curriculum Writing ideas daily suggestions, including Big Books, for writing across the curriculum Group projects to foster cooperative learning Bulletin board ideas suggestions and plans for student-created and/or interactive bulletin boards Planning guides suggestions for sequencing lessons each day of the unit Curriculum connections in language arts, math, science, social studies, art, and life skills Culminating activities to help students synthesize their learning Bibliography suggestions for additional books on the theme To keep this valuable resource intact so it can be used year after year, you may wish to punch holes in the pages and store them in a three-ring binder. 1995 Teacher Created Materials, Inc. 3 #592 Thematic Unit Insects
Introduction (cont.) Why a Balanced Approach? The strength of a whole language approach is that it involves children in using all modes of communication reading, writing, listening, illustrating, and doing. Communication skills are interconnected and integrated into lessons that emphasize the whole of language. Balancing this approach is our knowledge that every whole including individual words is composed of parts, and directed study of those parts can help a student to master the whole. Experience and research tell us that regular attention to phonics, other word attack skills, spelling, etc., develops reading mastery, thereby fulfilling the unity of the whole language experience. The child is thus led to read, write, spell, speak, and listen confidently in response to a literature experience introduced by the teacher. In these ways, language skills grow rapidly, stimulated by direct practice, involvement, and interest in the topic at hand. Why Thematic Planning? One very useful tool for implementing a balanced language program is thematic planning. By choosing a theme with correlating literature selections for a unit of study, a teacher can plan activities throughout the day that lead to a cohesive, in-depth study of the topic. Students will be practicing and applying their skills in meaningful contexts. Consequently, they will tend to learn and retain more. Both teachers and students will be freed from a day that is broken into unrelated segments of isolated drill and practice. Why Cooperative Learning? Besides academic skills and content, students need to learn social skills. This area of development cannot be taken for granted. Students must learn to work cooperatively in groups in order to function well in modern society. Group activities should be a regular part of school life, and teachers should consciously include social objectives as well as academic objectives in their planning. For example, a group working together to solve a problem may need to select a leader. Teachers should make clear to the students the qualities of good leader-follower group interaction just as they would state and monitor the academic goals of the project. Why Big Books? An excellent cooperative, balanced-approach activity is the production of Big Books. Groups of students or the whole class can apply their language skills and content knowledge to create additions to the classroom library. These books make excellent culminating projects for sharing beyond the classroom with parents and friends. This thematic unit includes directions for making Big Books in your classroom. Why Internet Extenders? Internet extenders have been added to many of the activities in this book to enhance them through quality Web sites. This supplemental information helps to expand the students knowledge of the topic, as well as make them aware of the many valuable resources to be found on the Internet. Some Web sites lend themselves to group research; other sites are best viewed by the entire class. If one is available, use a large-screen monitor when the entire class is viewing the Web site and discussing its content. Although these Web sites have been carefully selected, they may not exist forever. Teacher Created Materials attempts to offset the ongoing problem of sites which move, go dark or otherwise leave the Internet after a book has been printed. If you attempt to contact a Web site listed in this unit and find that it no longer exists, check the TCM home page at www.teachercreated.com for updated URL s for this book. #592 Thematic Unit Insects 4 1995 Teacher Created Materials, Inc.
Insects Around the House and Insects in the Garden Summary Insects Around the House by D.M. Souza There are billions of insects living on earth. In fact, there are more insects than all other animals combined. Some insects are so tiny that they are barely visible. Some tropical insects may be over a foot long. To be classified as an insect, the body should have three main parts: a head, a thorax to which wings (in most cases as mature adults) and six legs are attached and an abdomen a long, tail-like section. Many of the insects we find in our houses are pests. Termites, moths, flies, and cockroaches are a few of the insects discussed in this selection. You will find out where and how they live. Humans have been trying to get rid of these pests for a long time, but some of these insects have been around for more than 200 million years. They learn to adapt to many different conditions. Perhaps by learning more about them, you will discover the insect s part in the eco-system. Summary Insects in the Garden by D.M. Souza Insects are not only the pests we have in the house, but they are also important helpers in the garden and yard. Many insects act as pollinators. They carry pollen from flower to flower, helping to produce seeds. Some of those seeds are fruits and vegetables we grow in our gardens. Some insects are predators. They feed on pests that damage our plants. In this selection you will learn about some pests like grasshoppers and some predators like the praying mantis. Others insects to learn about in the garden area are dragonflies, wasps, earwigs, leafhoppers, and walking sticks. All of these fascinating creatures share the world with us. All of them play an important role in the balance of nature. Learn to recognize what they look like, how big they are, how they make their homes, how they lay their eggs, and what they like to eat. 1995 Teacher Created Materials, Inc. 5 #592 Thematic Unit Insects
Insects Around the House in the Garden (cont.) Sample Plan Day 1 Read pages 3 16 in Insects Around the House. 15 minutes of silent sustained reading (SSR) (page 6). Complete the crossword puzzle (page 38). Do the completion puzzle (page 8). Write the natural science journal magazine article (page 9). Discover the living fossils: dragonflies (page 67). Day 2 Read pages 17 37 in Insects Around the House. Complete the Venn diagram (page 10). Color Butterfly/Moth Creations (page 15). Find butterflies and moths in a word search (page 39). Discover more about migrating monarchs (page 42). Day 3 Read pages 3 20 in Insects in the Garden. Introduce daily writing topics (page 31). Complete the ant anatomy exercise (page 12). Find out about rain forest gardeners (page 43). Map the rain forests (page 65). Read about ant colonies (page 11). Research and plan a butterfly garden (page 16). Plot the answers (page 50). Day 4 Read pages 21 37 in Insects in the Garden. Continue daily writing topics (page 31). Construct and play insect bingo (pages 19 22). Make homonym cents about honeybees (page 40). Complete the long and short of insect measuring (page 48). Invent an insect (page 69). Learn more about beetles (page 13). Recipes and thanks for honey (page 72). Day 5 Read pages 38 39 in both selections. Continue daily writing topics (page 31). Unscramble termite information (page 14). Student teachers teach us (pages 17 18). Make insect crafts (page 70). Apply shape and space (page 52). Overview of Activities Setting the Stage 1. Prepare your classroom for a unit on insects. Collect books, magazines, and pamphlets on insects, entomology, etc. See the word bank listings on page 37 and the bibliography (page 77) for ideas. 2. Brainstorm to see how much students know about insects. Put an idea web on the chalkboard and let the students give their ideas while you write them down. Have them copy the web into their writer s workbook (page 30). After the end of this thematic unit, have them compare and contrast what they have learned. 3. Introduce the writer s workbook (page 30). Emphasize clue words and discuss the importance of taking just enough notes to understand the information a week later. Read information from a pamphlet or encyclopedia and have the class practice taking notes. 4. Introduce silent sustained reading (SSR). Plan a 15 20 minute period each day for SSR. Have each student read a book or article about insects or other related material. Give 15 minutes of reading homework and set a date for books to be finished. Have students take notes on the books they are reading in their writer s workbook. #592 Thematic Unit Insects 6 1995 Teacher Created Materials, Inc.